Captain_Canada

Hi all, hoping for some help on bike setup.

I recently bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker secondhand and the handlebars have me sort of scratching my head. This is going to be my work commuter. I've been riding racier bikes for years, also with drop handlebars.

These bars are kind of weird in that they seem kind of narrow and, when the drops are set parallel to the ground, the tops/hoods kind of slope downhill. This leads to the brake levers being way more down the bars than I'm used to.

The stem is also pointing upward, so I simultaneously feel way more upright, and also way more falling over, than I'm used to. The brake levers are tiny (Cane Creek) since the bike uses bar end shifters.

Are these type of bars just made to be ridden in the drops and not the hoods? That feels more natural with this setup (its just riding on the hoods that feels really weird)-but I can't imagine bicycle tourers doing long distances would be hanging out in the drops primarily.

Normally I'm on a cannondale CAAD10 using the bars that came with the bike, and the tops are flat, the shifters feel more natural (not the falling downhill feeling). The Cannondale feels perfect (had a professional bike fitting a couple years ago) and the Surly feels really foreign. Both bikes are size 58.

Could the solution be as simple as rotating the bars "upward" a bit?

mstateglfr 

There are a bunch of diffterent style bar bends because everyone prefers something different.

you most likely have a 26.0mm handlebar, so if you want to stick with that diameter, a couple of common alternatives with full C bend that are resonably priced are...
- nitto noodle. Traditional drop and reach but with a full C bend.
- soma hwy1. Compact drop and reach but with a full C bend.

if ypu switch your stem to 31.8mm, there are a lot of alternatives for all sorts of prices.

HTupolev

This is as much drop handlebar setup as drop handlebar shape. Hoods can be moved, and the handlebar angle can be changed.

Some do. Drops aren't necessarily a very aggressive posture, depending on how the bike is set up.

Might be. Might not be. Might depend on how much needs to change/improve for you to consider it a "solution."

At any rate, if you plan on using the bike for touring, make sure your hands are happy with whatever arrangement you go with.

Jakedatc

Yep, with older style brake levers that didn't really have hoods people like my dad ride in the drops a lot. the drops are higher so it's kinda like riding in a hood position now.

Can play with the tilt or may have to take the tape off and move the levers to a better position for you. or if they still don't work bars are pretty cheap to swap out.

79pmooney

This is where I do my first tape job with cloth tape. Makes unwrapping and rewrapping after moving the levers easy to do (many times). I actually take it a step further. I just tape the cable housings in place with electrical tape and do my first several rides carrying all the wrenches. Then the cloth tape goes on. Only after it has worn out and I know I really like the setup do I put fancy tape on.

A long way of saying I consider lever placement and bar rotation that important. (And bar shape. I collect the shapes I like.)

Ben

noodle soup

A photo of your setup would help

Clem von Jones

It's your thing, do what you wanna do. Rotate the bars. You might grow to like the narrower bars as I have.

canklecat

Play around with the position of the bar and hoods until it suits you. The brake levers may also have an adjustment screw for finger reach length.

I'm in the middle of swapping the stem on my road bike, and fiddling with bar angle, hood position, etc. I'll take a few extra tools with me on the first couple of rides.

Generally I prefer the bottom of the drops angled up slightly, not parallel with the ground. Suits my wrists better. Puts the hoods into a more secure position. My bike is older with aero hoods, very minimal compared with newer bikes. And I tweak the brake lever finger reach a bit closer.

I might not even bother with re-wrapping the handlebar on the first test ride. If I did it would be with either an inner tube cut into strips for wrapping the bar, or some cloth elastic ace wraps -- or both. The inner tube grips the bare bar well, but the carbon black makes my hands and gloves grimy. The old ace wraps over the inner tube strips are cleaner and more comfortable in sweaty weather. Quick and easy, works fine until I settle on the adjustments. Then I'll wrap with good bar tape.